A Pirate's Daughter
by travieso
Summary: Rebecca Montgomery is becoming quite sick of being stuck in Port Royalle. She wants to feel the sea air on her skin and experience freedom before it's too late to enjoy it. When a friend of her father's comes into town, will she finally get her chance?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any character, or property, depicted in, or associated with, the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I do, however, own any characters not recognized as PotC characters.  
  
This is my first ever, posted fan-fiction. Any reviews and suggestions are openly welcome. As are any constructive criticisms. Flames will be ignored and promptly deleted. Thank you for your help...it starts off pretty slow, but once it gets going, it should get better.  
  
Now, on a little less formal note...PotC Kicks butt, don't it? Great characters...yeah, so I'm obsessed, so what? :)  
  
Prologue:  
  
Judith Montgomery lies on the hospital bed. She has been in labor for nearly 18 hours and is nearing the point of giving up on her daughter's birth.  
  
"This one is going to be a stubborn." The midwife cracked as Judy takes a deep, relaxing breath after the last series of contractions fades.  
  
//If she's anything like her father, she'll be more than just stubborn// she thinks to herself ruefully.  
  
"You may want to sleep if you can madam." The midwife states, seeing the dark bags under Judith's eyes.  
  
"I'll try, but I doubt I have the ability." A tired smile proves her exhaustion.  
  
The midwife leaves her to thoughts.  
  
* * *  
  
:: Flashback : :  
  
The man wanders into her house once again. She knows he's there, but makes no effort to acknowledge his presence. She continues reading in perfect stillness. His hands rest on her shoulders, and still she reads. He dips his head to her hair and breaths in her scent. Her reading stops. She slowly stands and places the book on the mantle. He comes up behind her, placing his hands on her hips. She closes her eyes for a brief moment, then turns in her lover's arms.  
  
He welcomes her with a chaste kiss on the nose. She smiles slightly at his playfulness. He grins that knowing grin and kisses her full on the mouth. She makes no effort to protest, though she knows in her heart this will be their last meeting for a long while, possibly forever.  
  
She breathes in his scent: sea air, salt water, and man. Her stomach flips as his lips find her neck. No sounds are made by either party as he slowly moves his way downward. She smiles as he rips her dress from top to bottom. He never was any good at buttons.  
  
The two lovers work their way to the small worn bed they know so well. She helps him undress and they join. They move with a rhythm that they've learned so well over the past years. Sweat clings to their skin as the tempo increases slightly.  
  
The only sounds in the room are the crackling logs in the fireplace and the slapping of their skin. The rhythm becomes more and more frantic as they reach the peak together.  
  
They lay looking in each other's eyes for a long while before he withdraws. She stares at him as he dresses.  
  
"How long will you be gone?" she finally finds strength enough to voice the question that has been plaguing he dreams since he told her of his departure over a month ago.  
  
"I don't know, luv. I need to feel the freedom I once felt at sea. When that lust has been filled, I'll return. I'll return to you, my seamstress." His voice portrays very little of the pirate she met two years ago. He'd almost acclimated himself to society life, but the scallywag in him never truly died.  
  
"I'll keep my sights set on the horizon. I'll look for those black sails. You'll return, and until you do I'll wait..." //Even if it means waiting an eternity.// She stops all thought as he replaces his Royal Navy hat with his with his old Pirate one. His ship was to meet him off the coast at midnight. She holds her head high and keeps her lips smiling as he continues to prepare for his departure.  
  
"Make yourself happy. Don't wait for my return. Find a husband, start a family, but keep me in your mind, and heart, luv. I will return, but only the sea knows when and in what state."  
  
One final lingering kiss, and he leaves. She sits on the edge of the bed and fights back her tears. The optimist in her tells her to stay strong, her pirate will come back for her, but her mind is scoffing at it. She thinks back on the last two years they've had together, and a smile reaches her lips. She lays back on the bed and drifts into a very light, restless sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Judith is pulled from her reverie by another contraction, this one much stronger than any before it. She calls for the midwife.  
  
"Another contraction, madam?" The midwife asks as she frantically readies the water and cloths.  
  
"Strong...tearing—" Screams overtake her voice as she feels herself being ripped apart.  
  
"She's crowning madam. On the next contraction, I need you to push." A few short moments pass, long enough for Judith to catch her breath. The next contraction hit with more fury than the last, and brings with it a searing pain. She screams but remembers to push. A couple of minutes later, her screams subside and are replaces by the cries of a newborn babe.  
  
Judith laughs tiredly and lays back on her pillow. The midwife takes her baby to be bathed of all the fluids, and returns not five minutes later with the baby and a stitching kit. She lays the child in her mother's arms and begins stitching Judith's torn opening.  
  
Mother looks at her child's face and smiles.  
  
"She has her father's eyes." 


	2. Confused

Sorry it took so long to get this posted. This isn't the best-written chapter. I know I made a few mistakes, but I needed to get this posted so I could continue with the rest of the story. The Pearl comes to town and brings with it a recognizable face. How is this man connected with Judith and her daughter, Rebecca? Disclaimer at the beginning of the Prologue still applies.  
  
Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Montgomery is running through the streets of Port Royal, dodging raindrops on her way back to her home: The Montgomery Mercantile. Strange looks are shot her way by the "ladies" as she runs in her dress, water and mud soaking it to the waist. Her wet hair plasters itself to her face, making it hard to see as she attempts to avoid the other pedestrians who are trying to stay out of the storm.  
  
She reaches her front door and pauses to catch her breath. Looking down at her dress, she grimaces. //Mom's going to strangle me.// Her wet hands fumble with the latch as she tries to enter her home while making as little noise as possible. The door finally opens with a loud wooden creak. //So much for that idea.// She grins to herself.  
  
Avoiding the apprentice's eyes, she makes her way up the old, worn staircase and to her room. She pulls aside the curtain that she put up to allow herself some privacy, and her eyes meet the very sight that she had been trying to avoid: Her mother.  
  
"Where in God's name have you been? You should have been back from that delivery well before now. Did it ever occur to you that I just may need you help around here?" Rebecca rolls her eyes, irritated. What did her mother think she was doing, delivering the clothes for fun?  
  
"I went down to the docks to watch the ships." She knew her mother was going to make a big deal out of it, but what's the point of lying to her.  
  
"How many times have I tol--. Why can't you just be normal, like all the other girls? Why can't you wear a dress without destroying it?" Judith yells at her daughter. //Curse you father and his free spirit.//  
  
"Mother, you know I'm not like the other women. If I was, I'd be beautiful and have a hundred suitors. I'm sorry if I'm not as pretty as Miss Elizabeth Swann. She has men, young and old, falling at her feet. Besides, I quite enjoy not worrying about my appearance. The only people I have to impress are you and the few customers that we have." Rebecca pauses before she loses her temper. She always seems to when her mother mentions other females, or how she should try to find a man to call on her so she can be happy.  
  
"I'm sorry, Bec. I didn't mean to upset you. I just want you to be happy."  
  
"You don't understand. I am happy. I don't need a man in my life to tie down my freedom. Married women don't have their own lives, the have the lives that their husbands want them to have. Cooking, cleaning, children: that's not for me. I want to experience more while I still have the chance, and by being who I am now, I can. I want to see the world before I become a man's slave." Her voice is distressed and sincere.  
  
"And how do you presume you see the world? By joining the Royal Navy?" Judith scoffs slightly, not wanting her daughter to think that she doesn't believe in her, but also trying to get the girl to understand that women can't do such things.  
  
"No." Rebecca has no intentions of joining the Navy, even if she could. " I can go with Daddy. He's a sailor."  
  
Judith pales and stares at her daughter. //My daughter wants to be a pirate?!// The idea sinks into her head, and she chuckles. The sight of her daughter climbing the riggings in skirts is actually quite humorous.  
  
"You think you can make it on a pirate's ship? I don't mean to doubt you as a person, or sound pessimistic, but a pirate's ship is no cruise." As if to confirm her last thought, a cannon fires three shots into Port Royal.  
  
"I know those guns." Judith says as she slowly makes her way to the window. "It's the P...your father."  
  
Rebecca runs to the window. On the horizon, she sees a ship with holes in the sails, black as night, guns blazing at the Fort.  
  
"The Black Pearl." She says breathlessly. She peeks her head out the window farther, but the view from the second floor wasn't appealing. Pulling her head back in the window, she notices that the rain has stopped. Rebecca bolts downstairs and toward the back of the house to get a better view as her mother latches all the windows and barricades the doors. Opening the shutters slowly, she peers toward the docks. Chaos was evident even from this distance. She could very faintly hear crying of the other townsfolk in that area. //Why am I so excited? I should be terrified. Pirates are thieves and kidnappers.// Her thoughts drift to her father. Even though she's never met him, she knows in her heart that he's a good man. She watches the Fort as it begins to return fire on the Pearl.  
  
The guns are loud, and shake the ground. Plates rattle, and threaten to fall off the shelf. Clanking swords can be heard just around the corner of the very window Rebecca is looking out of. Pistols are fired throughout the town. And, yet, she's still not afraid. Sometimes she worries herself. A voice frightens her.  
  
"Have you seen any scallywags come this way miss?" A member of the Navy asks. It's hard to find her voice after being scared so thoroughly.  
  
"No, sir." After a long pause, her voice finally cooperates.  
  
"Good. Close the window. It's not safe out here for a woman such as yourself." The lieutenant continues.  
  
"It doesn't seem safe out for anyone. Man or Woman." She rebuts and closes the shutters before he was able to respond. The fading of his footsteps alerts her to his leaving. She opens the shutters once again, slowly enough to make very little or no noise a pokes her head out once more. A movement to her right catches her eye. //Hm. Nothing there.//  
  
"Hello, luv."  
  
Rebecca gasps and looks to her left. //A pirate! A real live Pirate!// Terror soon replaces her excitement as he pulls his pistol and points it to her temple. She backs away from the window slowly.  
  
"Step aside, woman. I wish to take advantage of your hospitality." The pirate smiles, gold glinting on his surprisingly white teeth.  
  
"No." //What am I doing? He's going to kill me!//  
  
"Look, I mean you no harm. I swear on pain of death that I will not harm your family or belongings. Please, just let me in."  
  
"No." //That's it, I'm dead.// The gun at her temple is cocked.  
  
"Move, luv. I don't want a woman's blood on my hands, but if that's what it takes, I will shoot you and think no more of it." The tone of his voice sends goose bumps running down her spine. Rebecca wisely steps aside to allow the man in through the window. The gun remains cocked as he climbs through the window. Not two seconds after his feet hit the floor and he shuts the window, the Royal Navy marches past outside.  
  
"Rebecca! Is everything all right?" Her mother's voice sounds frantic coming from the store. She thinks about screaming, but the pirate's eyes change her mind.  
  
"Yes mother. I'm fine." She begins walking toward the store, but the pistol cocking stops her.  
  
"Go on, luv. But I'm coming with you."  
  
She continues into the store, the shadows behind her hiding the visitor from her mother's view as she steps into the light. The fear in her daughter's eyes tells Judith that someone is behind her.  
  
"You can step out, pirate. I know you're there." The man pushes the gun into Rebecca's back and steps forward with her. He recognizes the woman standing, ready to defend her daughter's life with her own. A flash of recognition in the woman's eyes tells him he's right.  
  
"Jack Sparrow?" Judith asks, tentatively. 


	3. Jack? My Father?

"Miss Judith? Have you found yourself a husband yet?" Jack smiles at the way Judith looks at the ground, guiltily.  
  
"No. Jack. I haven't found anyone that will treat me as I feel I should be treated." Jack smiles again.  
  
Rebecca clears her throat.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone noticed that the gun is still at my back?"  
  
A look of realization hit Jack and he slowly lowers the gun and un-cocks it. He leans forward and whispers in her ear  
  
"But I liked having you at my mercy." Rebecca flushes and kicks herself for letting a pirate that she hardly knows get to her.  
  
Judith looks at the exchange and grins. //Same ol' Jack. Hasn't changed a bit.//  
  
"Jack, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Rebecca." Jack's face goes ghostly white.  
  
"D-Daughter?" For one of the few times in his life, Jack is actually speechless.  
  
Rebecca notices the look on Jack's face, and pales slightly herself. // Is he my...He's awfully young to be...but...//  
  
"When exactly were you going to mention a daughter?" Jack inquires, still slightly pale.  
  
"When someone decided to return to Port Royal." Judith smiles slightly at the shocked look on her daughter's face.  
  
"Oh...of course." Jack says sheepishly.  
  
Deciding to change the subject, Rebecca looks between her mother and this pirate, Jack.  
  
"This is probably a stupid question...but how long, exactly, have you known each other?" //And why wasn't his name ever mentioned to me?// She adds to herself. Her mother had talked numerous times about her father, but she had never mentioned a name.  
  
Jack smiles slightly as he looks at the women. //She looks so much like her mother.//  
  
"Near 20 years, luv." //That's what I was afraid of...that's the right age to make him my father...but...//  
  
"Is that so..." Rebecca looks to her mother for an explanation. Judith smiles at the annoyed interest in Rebecca's tone.  
  
"Jack and I met in Tortuga while I was living under Madam Kara's roof. She ran a brothel, and I helped make her women's dresses, and I was there trying to learn to be a woman...Now that I think of it; maybe I shouldn't have gone to Tortuga... I was 23 at the time. I remember the first moment that I saw the crew of the Black Pearl: They came blundering in as if they owned the place, giving orders and picking their women for the night. I was in the back corner, practicing my sewing, and they disturbed me so. I eventually got fed up with the commotion and headed to the stairs to continue my sewing in peace...  
  
::Flashback::  
  
"Hey Cap'n. Look at her. She looks new." One of the crew points to the brunette that is hastily making her way to the front of the brothel carrying a large swatch of fabric.  
  
"Hmm...fresh, warm, body." The captain pushes the whore off of his lap and follows the woman to find out her name. His first mate looks up as the captain moves. //He looks determined in something.// As his eyes follow his captain he spies a woman who looks more that slightly uncomfortable. //Ah...//  
  
"Hello, luv. You're new here, aren't you?"  
  
Irritated at the pirate, she attempts to brush past him, but he only blocks her attempt.  
  
"Sir, If you would please move, I have work to do." She glances at the intimidating man, and tries again to pass."  
  
"Sir!" He scoffs. "If you knew anything of me, you would think twice about calling me that." Then he grins and in a suggestive tone asks: "Would you like to get to know me?"  
  
Appalled, Judith calmly tries to pass again, deciding his comment warranted no answer. But again, he blocks her way.  
  
"I ask again. Please, move." She looks at him, letting him see the annoyance in her eyes.  
  
The first mate notices his captain's dilemma and decides to ease the embarrassment a little...at least for the captain.  
  
"'Ey, Cap'n! Looks like you found one with spunk!"  
  
Judith glares at the pirate who yelled. //How dare he! I oughta rip his he...wait...Cap'n? Hmm...I think I'll have some fun with this. Show those pirates that not all women can be played with as easily.// A devilish grin crosses her face, and the first mate catches it before she looks back at the captain.  
  
The first mate only shakes his head and lets the scene play out. //I hope you know who you're playing with, little girl."  
  
"Captain? You're honestly the captain?" She asks with fake enthusiasm.  
  
"Yeh, luv, I am."  
  
"Oh! I am sorry that I was rude. If I had known you were the captain," she touches his chest suggestively, "I would have been much nicer."  
  
The captain grins from ear to ear. He'd won. He'd get the new flesh.  
  
"Would you care to join me captain?" She starts walking up the stairs and the captain follows her, very willingly.  
  
Once upstairs and in her quarters, she turned to the captain, smiling. She seductively walks toward him and then brushes past him to go to her dressing table. She rifles through her drawers looking for her...//Aha!// She turns around, making sure to keep the object behind her, and out of sight. Very quietly, she sets the item on the top of the table and smiles at the pirate in her room. She gives him the "come hither" look and he wastes no time to comply. She leans back as he approaches and bats her lashes, completely playing the part of wench. As soon as he was close enough, she grabbed the item behind her and placed it to his temple. As soon as he heard the gun cock, he realized that she had won this round, but not the game.  
  
"I assure you, Captain, I am no wench, and will never become a wench, especially for a vile creature such as yourself! I suggest you return to your crew while you still have your dignity intact."  
  
"Good job, luv. You really had me convinced...but don't worry, I will have my way with you, and you'll be begging for more."  
  
"I highly doubt that, Captain. Now, if you please, I would appreciate the loss of your presence in my room." She points the gun at his groin. "Unless, you would rather that I have my way with you."  
  
The captain risks no further argument and retreats, with some of his pride still intact. He trudges downstairs, back to his crew. When he reaches the bar, he buys a bottle of rum. Taking a seat at the table with his first mate, he finally lets a scowl reach his face.  
  
"Told you she had spunk." The first mate is beyond amused at this woman.  
  
::End flashback::  
  
...I went back to my sewing, and he back to his crew. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to give up easily, and he bugged me for nearly 6 months, every time he and his crew were back in Tortuga, until I finally...gave in." Judith smiles at Jack, and he returns it. She walks toward Jack and smiles again. A recognizing look passes across both of their faces.  
  
"So, how is her father?" Jack's smile falter slightly. He looks down and cringes slightly. He knew this day would come eventually, but why today? He raises his head and looks into her eyes, trying to tell her, without actually saying anything.  
  
Judith notices the stricken look on his face. //Wha...no...// "Jack?"  
  
"He's...We got run up by the East Indies Trading Company. It seems they didn't like us stealing their gold...It was a brutal battle. We lost a lot of men, including the Cap'n. He tried to hold on, and he made me promise to tell you that he was sorry for all the pain he caused by not returning...He's dead, I'm so sorry." He pulled Judith into the circle of his arms and held her while she processed the information and tears ran down her face.. The man she fell in love with, the father of her child, and the one she has been waiting for, for years, is dead. That's a lot of memories to process within the short amount of time.  
  
"So...my father's dead?" Rebecca asked, slightly panicky. Her entire plan to get away from this Port, away from all the people that annoyed her so, was gone, within a matter of seconds. She knows that she's being selfish. She lost a man she never met, but her mother lost her soul mate...but she just couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped, of falling and not being able to find a foothold.  
  
"Excuse me..." she runs up to her room and collapses onto the floor.  
  
"Rebecca. I need to go to her." Jack nods and releases her. Judith makes it to the bottom of the stairs when there is a large pounding at the door.  
  
"Royal Navy, Ms. Montgomery. We need to search your shop."  
  
***  
  
A/N: Tehehehe. How many of you thought that Jack was the father??? I was originally going to make him her father, but that was just way too easy...Oh, and sorry it took so damn long to get this posted, I had some serious writer's block, but now that I'm over the hump, I should be able to post fairly quickly.  
  
P.S.- Please review, it'll help me decide what angle to take in the next chapter, and the rest of the story.  
  
P.P.S.— I would also like to thank midnightdemoness for her help on getting me over the "hump." :) You should go read her story, "The Forbidden One's Secret"...It's really good, and may I also say that Hiei is very hot with no shirt...I you don't know who that is, don't worry, I didn't either until about a month ago....anyways, now I'm just rambling. I'll try to get another chapter up as quickly as possible. Chaio  
  
-- 


	4. Anger

Disclaimer: Don't own it, Don't sue me.  
  
Rebecca hears the loud pounding at the door, and jumps slightly. //Damn, the Navy!// She pulls herself off the floor and tries to get herself together. She knows that if she looks shaken, the Navy will be suspicious. She starts to go toward her doorway, but is stopped by Jack shoving his way in.  
  
"Your mother told me to hide here." He responds before she has a chance to ask. "Are you alright, luv?"  
  
//Oh, yeah, just peachy. My father's dead, and now the Royal Navy is going to tear the shop apart, looking for you!// "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up is all." //Why couldn't you just have never shown up?//  
  
"I find that hard to believe, but we haven't time to argue, now. Go downstairs and help your mother. She may need as much as she can get."  
  
//Yes, sir Captain!// But she says nothing. Instead she just turns and goes downstairs. By the time she gets downstairs, the Navy is already throwing things around like they own the place. Rebecca was about to say something, but the look that her mother throws her shuts her mouth. So, she watches helplessly as the soldiers tear open cupboard doors and break the dishes on the floor, just to break them it seems.  
  
"I assure you, no man, pirate or not, would be able to fit in the cupboard, sir." Rebecca bites her tongue to stop the rest of her words from spilling out. //Although, I'm sure that if I cut you up small enough, you'd fit, you filthy...// The front door of the shop being thrown open cuts off the thought.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the Pirate child...and the Pirate wench. You know your daddy is dead, don't you?" The man, Lieutenant John Harvey, says, sneering at the women as he enters the room from outside. "I killed him myself. He begged for his life, the pathetic weasel." He winks at Rebecca making her want to vomit. He makes his way over to Judith, but Rebecca steps in front of him, getting as close to eye level with him as she can.  
  
"You lying bastard! My father would never beg. He was too much of a man to do that. You're the weasel; I bet you shot him in the back, didn't you! Coward!" Rebecca jerks back as his hand connects with her face. Her first reaction is shock, but as the blood pools in her mouth, she becomes livid and she spits it on his uniform. "You truly are a coward. I bet you think you're tough, hitting a woman like that."  
  
The man draws back to backhand her again, but, this time his hand is caught by another.  
  
"That will be quite enough, John. I think you've proved your point." James Norrington looks at Rebecca and notices the fire in her eyes. "I apologize for his behavior, Miss Montgomery. It seems that this attack has all of us feeling a bit stretched thin." He turns to Judith. "I appreciate your cooperation Mrs. Montgomery, my men and I will be leaving you to clean up now."  
  
"But Commodore! We haven't searched upstairs yet. They could be hiding him in one of their beds. That is, after all, what wenches do." John sneers once again at Rebecca, and she lunges at him, but is caught by her mother.  
  
"We are LEAVING. I'll have no more discussion about it."  
  
"Yes, sir." John sneers at Rebecca and she smiles sweetly at him. He growls under his breath and stomps out of the shop, followed by the rest of the men.  
  
"I truly am sorry. If there's any way that I can help you trust my Navy, again, please let me know. All of us aren't as bad as he is."  
  
"Well, you know what they say Commodore: One rotten apple spoils the bunch." Rebecca says, trying not to sound rude, but failing miserably.  
  
"Rebecca, that is quite enough. Go upstairs and clean up your face, you're still bleeding." Judith says a little annoyed at, and yet somehow proud of, her daughter's behavior. "I am truly sorry Commodore. She gets out of hand now and then. I hope she hasn't upset you or your men. I know she appreciates the safety your men bring to this town. I know I do." She smiles sincerely at James and he returns it.  
  
"I think John will recover, though his pride may be bruised for quite sometime." He laughs lightly. "Oh, and tell Captain Jack Sparrow that I will catch him next time he returns to this Port." And with that, he's gone out of her shop, and Judith begins the task of cleaning up her shop. Judith looks stunned that he knew the Captain was in the shop, and didn't do anything about it. //That's not like him at all.// Then her eyes really take in the disheveled state of her shop, and she flushes lightly with anger.  
  
//Filthy men think they own the whole damn town! They didn't have to break the China.// She giggles lightly as she remembers what her daughter said to them. //She acts more and more like her father everyday.// Tears return, to her eyes briefly as she realizes he isn't truly dead; he's in Rebecca.  
  
::Meanwhile, upstairs::  
  
//I can't believe that man! I should have killed him. I should have killed him! I probably would have if mom hadn't stopped me...why did she do that anyway...?// She ponders for about a split second before Jack rushes to her side.  
  
"You're bleedin'! What happened?" She merely smiles as if to say 'duh' and pushes past him to go to her room and clean the wound as her mom told her to. She goes to the wash bin and grabs her rag. She dips it in the water and lightly presses it against the corner of her mouth. Jack puts a hand on hers. "Why don't you let me do that for you?"  
  
"Thank you Captain Sparrow, but no. I can manage just fine myself. Why don't you go see if Mom needs any help cleaning up the mess they made searching for you." Her voice was cold and her words snapped. Jack looks at her, slightly stunned.  
  
"You are stubborn, you know that right?"  
  
Rebecca smiles, genuinely. "My mother tells me that everyday. Tells me I'm just like my father." She realizes then that he was only trying to help her when he asked to clean the wound. "And I plan to stay stubborn, so if you would, I'd appreciate you leaving and helping my mother. They made quite a mess down there."  
  
"I'll get through to you eventually, luv. You can count on that." He winks at her and grins. Before Rebecca has a chance to respond, Jack is already out of the room and heading downstairs.  
  
//Now, what did he mean by that?//  
  
::Back downstairs::  
  
"That daughter of yours is stubborn. Is she always that snippy when someone offers help?" Jack inquires as he walks over to Judith, dodging various swatches of fabric and bits of broken glass that are scattered across the floor.  
  
"Yes, unfortunately, she is. Even with her father not being here all her life, he seemed to influence her. She took so much from him, and I'm very happy for that. Even if it does drive me mad more often than not." Jack laughs at that.  
  
"She'd make a wonderful pirate, if you don't mind me saying so."  
  
"Yes she would, but don't let her hear you say that. I'll never hear the end of it." An idea donned on Judith at that very moment. //Well, she did always want to be a pirate...//  
  
"Jack?" She asks in one of her well known 'I-need-something-from-you-and- if-you-don't-give-it-to-me-you'll-wish-you-did' voices.  
  
"No. Whatever it is, don't ask. It's not happening."  
  
"Oh, Jack. What do you mean? I wasn't going to ask you anything too serious."  
  
"Uh-huh. Last time you said that, our captain deserted us for the civilized life."  
  
"Oh, folly. That wasn't all bad was it? After all, you did become captain of the Pearl." Jack ponders for a moment, and realizes that she's right. If it weren't for the Cap'n abandoning ship, Jack would have never become captain, especially not at the age of 17. He decided to hear her out, but not promise anything.  
  
"What did you want?" Judith beams at Jack, and he knows he should just leave and ne'er look back. A smiling woman could not be trusted, especially a smiling Montgomery woman.  
  
"Well, Rebecca was talking to me just earlier today about how she would love to see the world before she, as she put it, 'becomes a man's slave.'" Judith pauses for effect.  
  
"Yes? What has that to do with me?" Jack doesn't like where this conversation is heading, but he promised himself to at least hear her out.  
  
"Well, seeing as how you're that captain of a pirate's ship...and you see the world on you're journeys..." She bites her lip. //Should I really ask him? I hope he says...actually I don't know what I hope he says.// "And, you did say that she'd make an excellent pirate...So, you could take her aboard the Pearl with you and she could see the world, and you'd have an extra hand. I'd be able more work done without having her to clean up after..."  
  
"No! Say no more! I am not taking a 16 year old child aboard my ship!"  
  
"Jack, you grew up on a ship, and became captain at 17, I hardly see what age has to do with you're decision."  
  
"Gibbs would have a fit. He can hardly stand the idea of Anna Maria being on board. He may have a heart attack if I bring another woman on board, even if she is your daughter."  
  
"Oh, who cares what Gibbs thinks...  
  
"He's my first mate! I can't have him overthrowing me and becoming cap'n. It's my ship! She's not coming Judith. I don't know how much I have to stress that! I will not have a girl aboard my ship! Ever!"  
  
::Upstairs::  
  
Rebecca had finished cleaning her wound long ago, but hearing her mother ask Jack to take her along, she wants to see how the scene plays out before she decides to interrupt. She smiles at her mother's boldness. She drifts off through the conversation downstairs, knowing that her mother will win. She imagines herself aboard a ship, cooking for the crew, going places she's never been, or even heard of, and making her mother's life more eventful with her stories, and treasure that she brings back.  
  
"...I will not have a girl aboard my ship! Ever!" //Why that no good pirate! If he thinks...oooo...I'll show him a thing or two!//  
  
Rebecca strides purposely down the stairs and glares daggers at jack before deciding to speak.  
  
"And I'll have no good-for-nothing Pirate raise his voice to my mother! You were not invited her MR. Sparrow! You have no right! God help me, if you weren't my father's only friend, I'd slit your throat!!" Jack is taken aback by Rebecca's sudden entrance and then angered by her strong words.  
  
"You think you can kill me? Why don't you try it luv? Woman or no woman, nobody threatens me!" Jack gets closer and closer to her, and more and more angry, with every step, until he is face to face with the girl who thinks she's a man. "If you were a man, I'd have shot you at the first word of your threat!"  
  
"I suggest you take your leave before my mother has to witness the death of a man she's known for 20 years of her life." Rebecca will be damned if she's going to step down from this scallywag.  
  
Judith watches the scene play out in front of her, trying to decide whether or not to interfere. With the fire in the air, she decides she better before one or the other decides to make good on their threat.  
  
"Rebecca! To your room, now! We'll talk later." Not one to disobey an order from her mother, Rebecca glares one last time at the so-called man that is standing naught but an inch from her face, and turns to head upstairs. Jack begins to follow her, wanting to teach her a lesson for being so stupid, but the voice of the angry woman behind him stops him mid- step. "Jack!! I do not appreciate your curtness toward my daughter. I think you should take a walk, and return either when you have cooled down, or when you see fit!"  
  
Jack looks at the woman in front of him, and then to the stairs. //You get the last word this time, luv. But I will be back to finish this.//  
  
A/N: Wow! I think that was the longest chapter I've ever written! Yay for me. Okay, now I have a dilemma...Should Jack leave, and return to the sea, not bringing Rebecca with him, or should he go to the tavern, drink and then return to fetch Rebecca?...Either way I have the story-line plotted. It's up to you guys to decide how long you want this story to be. Review and let me know what you think.  
  
travieso 


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